My day at Inkarceration Festival began with a tour of the Ohio State Reformatory aka the prison from The Shawshank Redemption. During the self-guided tour, I learned that next year is the 25th anniversary. An hour and a half, I finished the tour and decided to check out the music.
I never realized how much Bad Omens sounds like Sempiternal-era Bring Me The Horizon. The sound keep cutting off during their set. They really should fire their FOH guy. Nothing more to say about them that hasn’t already been said by people in the comments of their videos.
After spending $18 (!!!) on food, I made my way over to the Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue tent. You know the drill, fire eating, swallowing razors, hooking, etc. Unfortunately, I have a weak stomach and was only able to stay for half the show.
I found my way back to the main stage where Of Mice & Men was playing. After the departure of Austin Carlile, I’ve found it hard to get into their newer material. Aaron Pauley is a great vocalist but I can’t help but think of Jamie’s Elsewhere 2.0 whenever I see them now. Not a bad performance by any means, however.
A little band called Lit played the side stage so I sat on the hill and watched them while I waited for the co-main event of the evening, A Day to Remember.
The theme song from 2001: A Space Odyssey played over the speakers which meant ADTR were starting. Opening with their smash hit, The Downfall Of Us All, the band wasted no time in getting the crowd moving. Right before the band played All I Want, Jeremy made a speech about Rise Against being the first “big” band to take them on tour in 2011 and allow stage production. He also mentioned All I Want "...was the closest we can get to ripping off Rise Against without getting sued.”
Near the end of the set, Neil offered side stage access to anyone who brought him a Bud Light. One older gentleman happily obliged and you can tell his night was made. While Kevin and Jeremy prepared to play If It Means A Lot To You, Kevin grabbed Jeremy’s mic and asked if this is what it’s like to be a vocalist. Freedom to move around and all. The band ended their set with fan favorite, The Plot to Bomb The Panhandle.
After an unnecessarily long changeover, Rise Against took the stage as the main event of the evening. The band kicked things off with "The Violence" from their most recent album, Wolves. The rest of the band's set was par for the course when it came to festival setlists. Interestingly enough, more songs were played from Endgame and The Sufferer & the Witness, coming in at three songs from each album. "People Live Here" is definitely one of the band's better acoustic tracks so I'm happy they're keeping in rotation. Rise Against closed out the evening with "Prayer of the Refugee".